British equities fall in broad market selloff; Dr Martens tumbles
Reuters
Published Apr 16, 2024 08:39
Updated Apr 16, 2024 17:20
By Shubham Batra, Khushi Singh and Pranav Kashyap
(Reuters) -London stocks dropped nearly 2% on Tuesday with its broadest selloff in years on growing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and reduced expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts, while a slide in Dr Martens (LON:DOCS) exacerbated losses.
Britain's main indexes FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 witnessed a freefall and tumbled 1.8% each.
The FTSE 100 logged its biggest intraday percentage drop in eight months, with nearly all stocks on the index ending in the red, while for the FTSE 250 the drop was the worst in three months.
Bootmaker Dr Martens slumped 29.4% to a record low after it named a new CEO and flagged a challenging fiscal 2025 on weak U.S. demand. The news pushed the personal goods sector to a 14-year low, falling 5.7%.
Superdry tumbled 23.8% after it launched a turnaround plan that included an equity raise that would take the fashion chain private.
Among other sectors, industrial metal miners followed with a 3.1% fall after prices of non-ferrous metals dropped on a stronger U.S. dollar. [MET/L]
Equities have been under heavy selling pressure as recent economic data in the U.S. have pushed back rate-cut expectations, with money markets expecting the Bank of England to cut rates by 41 basis points in 2024. [0#BOEWATCH]
"Currently there is one rate cut fully priced in and a high chance of a second cut. We think that the prospect of a second cut is now less likely," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
Meanwhile, unemployment in the UK edged higher in February and core wages saw their weakest climb since mid-2022, bolstering bets for Bank of England rate cuts in the near future.
British recruiters Hays (LON:HAYS) and Robert Walters dropped 4.3% and 4.9%, respectively, following a drop in their quarterly net fees, weighed down by low client and candidate confidence in major markets amid sluggish hiring conditions.
Get The App
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.